


Relax

by justdreadwolfing



Series: Garrus x Melody [2]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Shakarian - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-10 08:12:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6947032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justdreadwolfing/pseuds/justdreadwolfing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Struggling to get to sleep seems to be a normal thing for Shepard nowadays.  In an attempt to calm herself down, she wanders the ship unaware that she would run into a familiar face.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Relax

Melody stood silently, her eyes tracing the floor of the elevator as it moved downward in its usual slow motion. She rubbed her swollen eyes with her fingers, tracing the edges of her nose, in hopes that they would feel better. It didn’t work. To no surprise, she had gotten little to no sleep the past few days. Ever since Cerberus brought her back to life, she had struggled with it. She had tried everything to get to sleep, to no avail.

As the door to the elevator opened, Melody shuffled out the door and made her way towards the kitchen. Gardner always left things for her in special places for nights like tonight and she was certainly grateful. After everything that had happened over the past few weeks, a small snack in the middle of the night was just what she needed to cheer herself up. Even more so after hours of tossing and turning.

As the sensors felt Shepard’s presence, the lights slowly flickered on. The mess hall always felt completely different in this time of night. During the day, it was so loud…but now, with each step the silence echoed as she made her way across the room.

Opening the cabinets, Melody began quietly fixing something for her to eat. While she enjoyed cooking, she liked having simple meals and the small memories of home that it brought. As both of her parents were in the Alliance military, they had little time to prepare food for Melody and her brothers and sisters. It was easy for them to make them sandwiches like this and eventually for Melody to learn to cook for herself.

Melody spread the peanut butter and jelly across the bread and quickly placed the pieces together, a small smile crossing her face at the motion. Memories of her siblings getting mad at her for putting “the wrong part on the wrong piece” flashed in her mind.

Gods, she missed them. 

She shook her head as she walked around the island and took the plate to the table. Once she sat, she leaned back, resting her head on the back of the chair with closed eyes. She exhaled, reminding herself that she needed to relax, clear her mind or all hope of her falling asleep at all tonight would be lost.

“Shepard? It’s late. You should be in bed.” She didn’t have to open her eyes to know who the voice belonged to. The melodic metallic tone could belong to no one else.

She forced the words out in her usual way, doing everything she could to hide the strain in her voice. The turian was the last person she wanted to see her like this. “I should be telling you the same, Garrus. I thought everyone was asleep.”

“Just double checking some things. Cerberus built this ship from scratch and I don’t think I have to tell you how much they could do without our knowing. It worries me.” As he spoke, she heard him pull out the chair beside her and take a seat. Without lifting her head, she allowed her eyes to wander the area. While it wasn’t exactly the same ship, it still brought her a sense of calm. Finally, she peaked over at him, a grin spreading across her lips.

“I know what you mean.” Melody spoke softly, her words filled with worry. “But the best part about all this is that we’re ready when the Illusive Man tries anything. We’re prepared as soon as he turns.”

She could see him contemplating his next words carefully as their eyes met. “You already know Shepard, that no matter what comes our way I always have your back.”

Her smile grew. “I appreciate that, Garrus.” It was true. From Saren to Cerberus, he was one of the few she knew she could always count on. It made her wonder if those from her crew would join up along side him. Tali, Liara, Kaiden…Even though she showed up in a Cerberus uniform, Garrus didn’t bat an eye when she asked him to come back to the Normandy.

Garrus looked down at the table as he continued his thought. “What’s that old human saying? ‘…What goes around comes around’? I wouldn’t let that Illusive bastard get under your skin. Whatever he’s hiding, he’ll get what’s coming to him. I’ll make sure of that.”

“It doesn’t bother me. We’ve been going against the current ever since we set out after Saren. I’m used to this by now.” She exhaled, knowing full well that Garrus wasn’t the only one she was trying to convince. 

Garrus scoffed, looking back over at her. “Shepard, please.” She looked over, her eyes widening a bit. “You may be able to fool everyone else on this ship, but you can’t fool me. You’ve been coming down here every night since we got you back. You spend hours down here just staring at the food on your plate until you get bored and head back up. I know you Shepard, and I can tell when you’re not sleeping.” His voice changed a bit, a stern tone taking place. “Now, how long has it been?”

Melody sighed softly as she strung her words together. Her voice became quiet and slow, barely a whisper as her face softened. “Ever since they brought me back to life. On the off chance that I’m able, I end up having these horrible nightmares that wake me.” She paused, her voice getting softer as she spoke. “I’ve tried…everything.”

“Nightmares? About the Collectors?”

“The day I died. Mostly, I just remember floating out there…my air tube breaking…struggling until the air finally runs out…” She shivered, rubbing her arms with her hands. “I’d rather not think about it.”

His voice got soft, leaning in a bit closer. “Shepard…why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?”

Melody stood, pushing herself away from the table, Garrus mimicking her without hesitation. He slid in behind her, watching her closely as worry filled his eyes. “I’m fine, really. Once I’m on the field, I’m 100%.”

As she eyed the ground quietly, she could feel Garrus moving up close behind her. She felt him graze her arm, a touch she was becoming more familiar with. With Kaiden no where in sight, she would be lying if she said she wasn’t tempted to move on. Garrus was…different. Gentle flirting back and forth had always been the norm, even with Kaiden around. It was playful and innocent, but things were changing. Now…even his touch made her feel calm. They had never talked about this new chemistry between them, but he had to feel it too. 

The metallic tone continued, each note sending a shiver down her spine. “I know you are, but you really should be taking better care of yourself.” His hard fingers trailed down her arm, stopping as he came into contact with her hand. Suddenly, he cleared his throat as he backed away from her. “Trying something new won’t hurt. Maybe spending some time with a close friend will make you feel better.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Garrus started walking towards the elevator. Melody nodded as she followed closely behind the turian, trying desperately to hide the traces of blood under her cheeks. He was quiet as he escorted her the rest of the way to her quarters. It felt nice to have someone to talk to about everything that had happened. Ever since Cerberus woke her up, things seemed to be continually stumbling out of control. Any number of her original crew would have been more than willing to sit with her for a bit and chat, but now…most of the ship was crewed by strangers. Finding Garrus on Omega was the first good thing that had happened to her. She finally felt grounded, like she was finally taking steps in the right direction.

As they reached the door to the bedroom, Garrus broke the silence. “Did I ever tell you about when I was younger?” He paused. “I used to be just as weak and annoying as the next kid, but at some point I started having wicked nightmares. They would keep me up late, cold sweats, screaming, you name it. My father would tell me to man up, but my mother…” He trailed off, a hint of a smile spreading across his face as he reminisced. 

Melody sat down on the couch, listening intently. Garrus hardly ever talked about his past, so the few times he did, she soaked it up. 

“She would spend hours with my head in her lap, gently stroking my fringe as she lulled me back to sleep. Seems embarrassing now, but it always helped me fall back asleep. Turians aren’t usually quite so touchy-feely, but it never failed with me.“ Garrus lowered his head for a moment before looking over at her, slowly sitting next to her. “If there’s one thing I know about humans, it’s that a simple touch can do wonders for them.” 

She knew what he was getting at, but it was funny to watch him struggle to get the words out. He always had trouble stringing words together when it came to her, always trying to find the best way to put it and usually failing horribly. It was cute. She leaned forward, playfully swinging back and forth as a smile danced across her lips.

Garrus looked over at her, worry filling his eyes. “I hope you don’t find this too forward, but…it may help if we try it.”

She giggled. “You want me…to put my head in your lap?”

“If there’s even a possibility that it may work, we should try it.”

Melody smirked. "I’m just not sure. We’ve gotten close, but isn’t that more in a girlfriend’s area?“ She was pretty sure that turians couldn’t blush, but his body language showed just how nervous he was even suggesting such a thing.

Garrus did everything he could to avoid eye contact with her, but it seemed she was having the opposite reaction. She couldn’t help herself from smiling at him. "Shepard, we need you in top shape for the Collectors and that means you need to get some shut eye. Just…try it. If it’s too awkward for you, we’ll stop.”

She was skeptical, but she was willing to try it. Hell, she had tried everything else to get to sleep. Melody scooted down the couch a bit, and arranged herself so that her head was leaning up against his leg. While she tried to hide it, she could feel her face burn through every attempt. “Just…let me know if it makes you uncomfortable…” She mumbled, immediately hearing Garrus chuckled under his breath.

“You could never make me feel uncomfortable, Shepard. You’re close to the only person I have in the galaxy. If taking care of you helps you in any way, my knee is always open.” His hand was tentative, but eventually he began gently stroking her hair. The sheer awkwardness that emitted from him showed her just how comfortable he was with physical contact. This was probably the first time he had ever done anything like this, aside from the casual grazes he would run up and down her arms.

Her smile spread her face as she tried to concentrate on falling asleep. She could feel his muscles tighten in his legs, staggered breaths as he tried to keep them steady. Despite how hard he was trying to keep himself cool, she had never felt more comfortable than she did next to him. Garrus had been with her through everything. After everything, she knew that Garrus would walk through fire to make sure she was safe. While they had never acted on their occasional flirt, she knew that above all else, he would always be her best friend. “Thank you, Garrus.”

“Anything for you, Mel.” He answered almost instantly. His fingers ran through her hair, sending shivers down her body, a wave of relaxation flowing through her. After a few minutes of this steady action, she began to feel her eyes grow heavy.

Soon, she was able to fall asleep and for the first time since she had been brought back by Cerberus, she had a nice dream.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to check my Tumblr for any updates to my Shakarian masterpost. I need to figure out how to sort all of my entries on this website, so until then, just be patient with me.
> 
> My Mass Effect Tumblr: http://killing-reapers-ontheside.tumblr.com/


End file.
